Chapter 32 CHAPTER 33

Chapter 32 CHAPTER 33
Bronte's POV

The kiss is everything the almost-kisses weren't.

Desperate and certain at the same time, like we've both been holding our breath for weeks and finally let go.

His hands are in my hair and mine are gripping his shirt and we're pressed against the storage room wall and nothing else exists except this moment.

When we finally break apart, we're both breathing hard.

"We just—" I start.

"I know."

"We can't—"

"I know that too."

But neither of us moves away.

He rests his forehead against mine, his hands still cupping my face.

"I've been wanting to do that since the first night in the library," he says quietly.

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I was trying to be good. Trying to do the right thing. Trying to stay loyal to my brother."

"And now?"

"Now I don't care anymore." He kisses me again, softer this time. "I'm done pretending I don't want this. Want you."

"Sebastian—"

"I know all the reasons we shouldn't. I know about Alexander, about the packs, about the consequences. I know all of it." He pulls back to look at me. "But I also know that I love you and you love me and we just kissed and I don't regret it."

"You should regret it."

"But I don't. Do you?"

I should say yes. Should tell him this was a mistake, that we need to forget it ever happened, that we can never do it again.

But I can't.

"No," I say quietly. "I don't regret it either."

He smiles and it's the first real smile I've seen from him in days.

"So what do we do now?" he asks.

"I don't know."

"We could run away. Leave tonight. Go somewhere they'll never find us."

"You don't mean that."

"Don't I?" He takes my hands. "I'd leave all of this behind for you. The pack, the territory, everything."

"You love this pack."

"I love you more."

The words make my chest ache.

"We can't run," I say. "There's too much at stake. Too many people who would be hurt."

"So what then? We go back to pretending? To sneaking around? To almost-kisses that never happen?"

"We just had a kiss that did happen."

"And I want another one. And another one after that. And I don't want to hide it."

"You're asking me to choose."

"I'm asking you to choose yourself. What you want. Not what everyone else wants for you."

Before I can answer, we hear footsteps outside the storage room.

Multiple footsteps.

Voices.

We freeze, still pressed against the wall, Sebastian's hands still on my face.

"Check in here," someone says. Alexander's beta.

"Why? It's just storage."

"Alpha said check everywhere. He's looking for someone."

The door handle turns.

Sebastian and I barely have time to step apart before the door opens and two warriors walk in.

They stop when they see us.

"Beta," one of them calls back into the corridor. "They're in here."

Alexander's beta appears in the doorway, his expression unreadable.

"Luna," he says, then looks at Sebastian. "The Alpha is looking for you both. Separately."

"We were just—" I start.

"It doesn't matter what you were doing." He steps aside. "Luna, you're to go to your room and wait there. Sebastian, you're to report to the Alpha's office immediately."

"Is that an order?" Sebastian asks.

"Yes."

Sebastian looks at me, his expression saying everything he can't say out loud with witnesses present.

Then he walks out without another word.

The beta gestures for me to go ahead of him.

I leave the storage room and head toward the main house with the beta following a few steps behind.

When we reach my room, he waits until I'm inside.

"The Alpha will send for you when he's ready," he says, then closes the door.

I hear the lock click from the outside.

He locked me in.

I move to the window and look out at the grounds below, my heart racing.

Did they see us kissing? Did someone tell Alexander we were together?

Minutes pass.

Then an hour.

I pace the room, unable to sit still, unable to think about anything except Sebastian in Alexander's office right now.

Finally, the lock clicks and the door opens.

Alexander stands there, his face like stone.

"Come with me," he says.

"Where's Sebastian?"

"That's not your concern."

"Is he alright?"

"I said that's not your concern." He steps aside. "Now come with me or I'll have you dragged."

I follow him downstairs to his office.

When we get inside, Sebastian is standing by the window, his jaw already bruised, a cut above his eyebrow bleeding.

"What did you do to him?" I move toward Sebastian but Alexander catches my arm.

"Don't," he says, his voice deadly quiet. "Don't you dare go to him right now."

"You hit him."

"I did a lot more than hit him." He forces me into a chair. "Sit."

I sit because his grip is bruising my arm and I don't have a choice.

He moves to stand behind his desk, putting space between us and Sebastian.

"So," he says, looking between us. "Does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on? Or should I just tell you what I already know?"

Neither of us speaks.

"Fine. I'll tell you." He leans forward, his hands flat on the desk. "My beta found you two alone in the training storage room. Standing very close. Both of you flushed and breathing hard like you'd been—" He stops, his jaw clenching. "Like you'd been doing something you shouldn't have been doing."

"We were talking," I say.

"Talking."

"Yes."

"About what?"

"About you. About your accusations this morning."

"And that required you to be alone in a storage room?"

"We wanted privacy."

"Privacy." He looks at Sebastian. "Is that what you call it?"

Sebastian doesn't answer.

"I asked you a question," Alexander says, his voice rising.

"We were talking," Sebastian says finally. "Like she said."

"Liar." Alexander moves around the desk fast, getting in Sebastian's face. "You were kissing her. Admit it."

"We weren't—"

"Don't you dare lie to me!" Alexander shoves him hard enough that Sebastian stumbles back into the wall. "I can see it on your face. I can smell her on you. You kissed her."

Sebastian looks at me, then back at Alexander.

"Yes," he says quietly. "I kissed her."

The room goes silent.

Alexander stares at his brother like he's seeing him for the first time.

"You kissed my mate," he says slowly.

"Yes."

"The woman I'm supposed to marry in a few weeks."

"Yes."

"My brother. My own brother kissed my mate."

Sebastian doesn't flinch. "Yes."

Alexander's fist connects with Sebastian's face so fast I don't see it coming.

Sebastian goes down hard.

"Alexander, stop!" I jump up but Alexander holds up a hand.

"Sit down," he says without looking at me.

"No."

"Sit. Down." He turns to face me and his expression makes me freeze. "Or I'll have you removed from this room and you won't see what happens next."

I sit.

Alexander turns back to Sebastian who's getting to his feet, blood running from his nose now in addition to the cut above his eye.

"How long?" Alexander asks.

"How long what?"

"How long have you been fucking my mate?"

"I haven't—"

"How long have you been in love with her then? Since she got here? Before that? Years?"

Sebastian wipes blood from his face. "Since the first time I saw her."

"When she was fifteen and here for a pack visit?"

"Yes."

"You've been in love with her for years and you never said anything?"

"What was I supposed to say? She was yours. The Moon Goddess chose her for you."

"So you just waited? Hoped I'd fuck it up somehow so you could swoop in?"

"No. I stayed away. I kept my distance. I did everything right until—"

"Until what?"

"Until she came here and I couldn't ignore it anymore."

Alexander looks at me. "And you? How do you feel about my brother?"

I don't answer.

"Answer me, Bronte. Do you have feelings for Sebastian?"

"Alexander—"

"Just answer the question!"

"Yes," I say quietly. "I have feelings for him."

The words hang in the air.

Alexander steps back like I've hit him.

"You love him," he says.

"I—"

"Don't lie to me. Not now. Do you love him?"

I close my eyes. "Yes."

When I open them, Alexander is staring at me with an expression I've never seen before.

Hurt and rage and betrayal all mixed together.

"Get out," he says to Sebastian.

"Alexander—"

"Get out of my sight before I kill you."

Sebastian looks at me one more time, then leaves.

The door closes and I'm alone with Alexander.

"So," he says, his voice eerily calm now. "My mate is in love with my brother. My brother is in love with my mate. And I'm the fool who didn't see it coming."

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry." He laughs but there's no humor in it. "You're sorry. That makes it better then."

"I didn't mean for this to happen."

"But it did happen. You fell in love with him. You kissed him. You chose him."

"I didn't choose anyone."

"Yes you did. The moment you kissed him, you chose." He moves to the window, his back to me. "The wedding is off."

My heart stops. "What?"

"You heard me. The ceremony is cancelled. The alliance is broken. You can go back to your pack."

"Alexander—"

"Unless." He turns to face me. "Unless you want to fix this."

"How?"

"By choosing me. Right here, right now. Tell me you'll forget about Sebastian, that you'll never see him again, that you'll be my mate and my Luna and nothing else matters."

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because I'd be lying."

"Then we're done." He moves to the door and opens it. "Pack your things. You leave tonight."